The Sprout

Beavers building a den at Hill End – or should that be ‘lodge’?

The newsletter for North Hinksey & Botley

Issue 142 November 2019

The Sprout

Issue 142, November 2019

Contents

3 Letters to the Editor

7 Oxford Herbaria

9 Winter Artweeks

11 PPG: Cancer screening

13 Equali-tea

15 Friends of Raleigh Park

19 Botley Apple Day

21 Brownies play the game

23 Oxbridge Expressway

25 Oxford food Bank is Ten!

29 Morris for the masses

31 Beavers having fun

33 Planning Applications

35 Branches cafe

37 Police Report

39 Food ideas: Slugs

41 Randoms

43 Local organizations

From the Editor

This month’s cover shows the Beavers at Hill End (p31), while the

report from the Friends of Raleigh Park’s AGM (p15) shows that our

own local nature reserve is becoming increasingly rich in wildlife,

thanks to the hard work of lots of people. The pioneering Oxford Food

Bank celebrated its tenth year of operation (p25). Last month saw

several notably inclusive events: Botley Apple Day attracted people of

all ages (p19), Branches Youth Cafe (p35) and the Brownies (p21) both

enjoyed inter-generational parties, and North Hinksey hosted a tea to

celebrate the 30th anniversary of the founding of the LGBT charity,

Stonewall (p13). Coming up in November: a chance to get informed

about the plans for the Oxford–Cambridge Expressway (p23), about

Cancer Screening (p11) and Winter Artweeks (p9) and to get fit by

joining our local Morris side (p29). Colin and Sally Hersom report on a

visit to a little-known Oxford asset, the Oxford Herbaria, one of only

2,600 in the world (p7). Then there’s bad news from the local police

(p37), where a spate of burglaries gives food for thought, and finally

we have one of Riki Therivel’s cookery pages, reprinted from five

years ago, but still a classic (p39). Happy reading!

Ag MacKeith

Letters to the Editor

Parking problems

I am pleased to learn that double yellow lines are planned for North

Hinksey Lane, but will they be enforced? We have similar problems

in Westminster Way. Builders park on the path every working day.

When I asked Fix my Street and councillors about lines here, or at

least repainting those on the chicane, I was told there was no

budget until 2020. What can we do?

Thank you for highlighting this, and well done for avoiding the scam!

Malcolm Bell

More on scamming

I was interested to read in last month’s Sprout about a telephone

scam which nearly cost the victim £6000. It reminded me of a scam

which affected me in 2014. These scams have something important

in common. The first scam started with a stoppage of internet

service, followed very quickly by a phone call, apparently from BT,

offering help to get the service up and running again.

My scam started with a delivery of a mobile phone which I hadn’t

ordered, followed within minutes by a phone call, apparently from

the mobile phone company, telling me that a mistake in delivery had

been made, and offering me £25 to hand the phone over to a courier

who arrived very shortly afterwards. Later I got a large bill for the

phone from the company, and it took some effort to convince them

that there had been a scam.

Both scams started with an unexpected event, followed by an offer

of help from a plausible but criminal source. Both scams could have

been stopped at the outset by an independent check. In both cases

this would have involved terminating the call and independently

contacting the organization apparently offering help, either online

(via a different internet connection) or from a different phone (to

eliminate the possibility of the scammers staying on line to capture

and answer the next outgoing call). In summary, if you get an

unexpected and unsolicited telephone call, offering assistance

with a just-discovered

problem, there is a very good chance that it is part of a scam.

However plausible the contact, it should be checked independently.

For comprehensive advice on detecting and handling scams,

contact Citizen’s Advice at www.citizensadvice.org.uk

Grant Nightingale

Good timing

Thanks for your invaluable article in the Sprout. I just got the phone

call, but was in the know after reading what happened to you. I

strung them along as long as I felt like it, then called them

scammers that I read about.

I have forwarded this to BT.

Good mag. Good Work. Thanks.

Babinder Samra

The Oxford Herbaria

We were lucky enough to be able to visit the Oxford Herbaria as part

of Oxford Preservation Trust “Open Doors” in mid-September. We

had no idea what to expect, but were told to gather outside the Plant

Sciences building on South Parks Road.

Stephen Harris, the curator, took us to a room where there were

cupboards full of pressed, dried plants. On display were a few from

the collection and also some books of the oldest collections. Each

book is a herbarium – hence the collection is the herbaria. One

such volume, found in a shed under a pile of straw, turned out to be

the oldest in the world (c. 1660) and was in surprisingly good

condition given its treatment.

The purpose of these herbaria (around 2600 worldwide) is to record

all plant species and allow scientific research with the specimens.

One such investigation had found some spores of the blight fungus

on an early potato specimen. Analysing the DNA revealed that the

fungus originated in Europe, not brought in from Peru as previously

supposed. The potato just happened to be a suitable host and we

grew it everywhere!

Since the colours are lost when plants are dried, the collection also

includes drawings. One beautiful volume from the early 19th

century was made by an artist who travelled with a collector and

made pencil sketches and numbered the colours. On his return he

created the book from those sketches – some of them drawn years

after he saw the plant. Each drawing took 1¼ days on average and

the colours are completely accurate. It took even longer to publish

the book since each page had to be engraved and the prints

carefully hand-coloured. Only 25 copies were ever made.

The importance of the original specimens was made clear when he

showed us a drawing of a solanum plant from Brazil. It showed a

thorn on the stem, and people had searched for years for another

example. When they found the original dried specimen, they

realised that the “thorn” was in fact a misplaced flower bud and the

plant was a common weed! Sometimes a herbarium contains a

plant that really is extinct. One such is a vetch collected in the

Azores in 1848: the whole of its range disappeared into the ocean a

few years later in a landslip.

Another plant on show was a water-lily. It had flowered in

Chatsworth and this was the actual flower – preserved for ever. The

flowering success made others try harder and whole greenhouses,

including the one in Oxford Botanic Gardens, were constructed

specifically for the purpose.

This location was only open to OPT members, but there are many

places open to the general public over the weekend, to suit all

tastes. If you haven’t encountered Open Doors before, why not

make a note to explore some of Oxford’s fascinating aspects next

year?

Colin & Sally Hersom

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Winter Artweeks

Yes, Artweeks is not just in May! A number of Oxfordshire artists will

be opening their studios or taking part in fairs and shows this winter,

and many will have a Christmas theme.

Here’s what to expect in the West Oxford area:

West Oxford Community Centre will host its annual Handmade

Christmas Market featuring over 20 artists and craftspeople. Tumbling

Bay Café will be open for refreshments! (Sat 23 November 11– 6pm &

Sun 24

November 11–4pm, West Oxford Community Centre, Botley

Road, OX2 0BT: www.facebook.com/ OxfordChristmasMarket).

Ali and Jane Hogg will exhibit 18 years of Christmas card designs with

other artworks, photographs, prints, cards and jewellery (two

weekends, Sat 23/Sun 24 November and Sat 30 November/ Sun 1st

December 10–6pm, 42 Arthray Road, Botley, OX2 9AB – Instagram

@ali.hogg).

Just around the corner is artist Will Cotterill who will be showing

paintings, sculpture, prints, cards and postcards in his gallery.

(Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 November, 10–6pm, 2 Springfield Road,

Botley, OX2 9HJ – www.williamcotterill.co.uk).

In Cumnor David Williams, Sue Side and Steph Monteath’s Winter

Show will showcase sculpture, drawings/etchings and textiles. (Fri 29

Nov, Sat 30 Nov and Sun 1st Dec 10 – 4pm: Robsart Place Cumnor

OX2 9QT).

To find out more visit www.artweeks.org, click on ‘galleries’ and

select ‘artist’ or ‘Christmas Event’.

Cancer Screening – is it for you?

Botley and Kennington Patient Participation Group will host a talk by

Cancer Research UK’s Hannah Hollis, the organization’s Facilitator

for Oxfordshire and Swindon, at 7.00-8.00 pm on Wednesday 20

November at Botley Medical Centre, Elms Road, OX2 9JS. All

patients of Botley Medical Centre and Kennington Health Centre are

welcome.

Cancer screening looks for signs in symptom-free people that

cancer may be developing. If you already have symptoms, contact

your GP straight away.

The UK has three national cancer screening programmes. n

England:

* Breast screening is offered to women aged 50--70

* Cervical screening is offered to women aged 25--64. It is

offered every 3 years to women aged 25--49 and every 5 years

to women aged 50--64

* Bowel screening is offered to all men and women aged 60--74

who are registered with a GP.

* If you are older than the age range for breast or bowel

screening, you can make your own breast screening appoint-

ment, or request a bowel screening kit. Your GP surgery can

tell you how to do this.

Hannah will discuss the pros and cons of cancer screening for

individuals and for society. There will be time for questions.

For further information, please see Cancer Research UK’s website

https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/screening/unders

tanding-cancer-screening

Who we are: the Botley and Kennington Patient Participation Group

consists of volunteers who are registered patients of the Botley

Medical Centre and Kennington Health Centre. Our main aims are:

to promote the well-being of patients and to facilitate positive and

effective two-way communication between the practice and its

patients. For further information about Botley and Kennington PPG,

please contact me at grantn00@outlook.com.

Grant Nightingale

North Hinksey Equali-tea!

North Hinksey residents came out in

support of inclusivity and equality for gay

and transgender people at a sun-soaked

tea party marking the 30th anniversary of

of the founding of Stonewall, the LGBT

charity.

Stonewall-inspired “Equali-tea” parties

have been taking place around the country

this year. The event in North Hinksey

Village drew more than 40 locals, bearing

a truly impressive variety of cakes, and

raised £190.

Two North Hinksey residents, Ruth Wilson

and Kate Sullivan-Estrada, organized the tea party They were

pleased with the results of their efforts, and said: “It was a really

lovely afternoon full of sun and smiles and even some dancing! It

was heartening to see our local friends having a good time to

support a good cause – and to

meet new friends at the event.

Although there has been

progress towards equality in the

UK, LGBT people still face

prejudice and sometimes

violence. Also, we should

remember that in all too many

parts of the world, being gay or

transgender can mean a prison

sentence or worse.

We’re grateful to Botley

Women’s Institute for lending

their tea urn. There was quite a

turnout so it would have meant

an awful lot of kettle boiling

without it! We hope to make this

an annual event – thanks to all

who came and helped to make it

such a success.”

Ruth Wilson

Friends of Raleigh Park

The 8th Annual General Meeting of the Friends of Raleigh Park,

held once more in the Louie Memorial Pavilion, celebrated a very

busy year for the Park and exciting prospects for the future.

The meeting was attended by some 20 members and

representatives of BBOWT, Oxford City Council (OCC, the trustees

of the Park) and the Freshwater Habitats Trust (FHT), and was

occupied almost entirely by reports on current and future activity.

The year began well with the award (in September) of a Letter of

Commendation by the Oxford Preservation Trust to the Park and the

Wild Oxford project, recognising the opening up of a new viewpoint

over the City. It was followed by a lively Adventure Day for families

organised by Andy Gunn and Ceri Cadwallader of BBOWT during

the October half term, and the annual Boxing Day Walk, with a

second Adventure Day in February. In May Linda Losito gave an

eye-opening talk on dung and dung beetles. BBOWT Work parties

including scrub clearance and meadow scything have continued

through the year, with a dedicated cohort of local volunteers.

Butterfly surveying (led by Barbara Witkowski and Leon Piper)

began in January with an egg hunt which identified eggs of the rare

Brown Hairstreak butterfly on blackthorn in the Park and on Harcourt

Hill; it continued with three-weekly butterfly walks which have

recorded over 600 specimens from 20 different species, including

some passing Painted Ladies. The most productive walk, in mid-

July, spotted 240 butterflies, and was combined with a citizen

science survey of flowering plants, which recorded over 40 species,

some of which had not previously been noted, and confirmed the

vitality of rare species such as the Spiny Restharrow.

David Brown had begun a survey of bats in the Park, using

recordings converted to analysable audio signals. The bird boxes

installed by Clive Smith (who had also constructed a bird feeding

station) have been monitored by Stephen Miller; the 15 boxes had

raised some 50 great tits and blue tits, with boxes for owls and

wagtails still awaiting their first occupants. Barbara Witkowski

reported on a countywide project to vaccinate badgers against

bovine TB, and thus eliminate the need for culling; in a notable piece

of networking, the extension of this programme to the setts in

Raleigh Park was agreed during the meeting by OCC officer Julian

Cooper. Andy Gunn announced the release of Judy Webb’s latest

ecological report on the Park. All of this activity, which has depended

on an active Friends group working closely with the Oxford City

Parks management and BBOWT, has continued the transformation

of the Park from scrub to a more open wildlife-rich site whose

precious areas of rare alkaline fen are being preserved and

enhanced.

A new initiative, to be conducted in

conjunction with the Freshwater

Habitats Trust, will re-wet the fen by

constructing dams on the streams. A

separate project, for which grant

funding has just been requested,

aims to improve the Park’s

accessibility, by installing gates

suitable for wheelchair and pushchair

access, stabilising major pathways,

and installing interpretative signage

for entrances and the fen area, with a

new seat to encourage use of the

new Viewpoint. This will be the first

major grant application by the

Friends, and has benefited enormously from input from Michael

Woods of OCC, as well as from a generous offer of contribution in

kind from OCC and two recent donations which enabled the Friends

to pledge money from their own funds towards the total budget.

Another project awaiting funding is a hydrological survey of the Park

and its water catchment area, to support future responses to

development plans which may put the Park’s wetlands at risk.

In a panel discussion, Julian Cooper reported that OCC were

pursuing an alternative grazing strategy which would bring more

manageable rare breed cattle into the Park to fulfil the crucial role of

keeping grass short and treading in wild flower seeds. Ellie Mayhew

of FHT reported on an innovative method of surveying ponds for

their wildlife, by analysing traces of environmental DNA recovered

from pond water; the results for the Park would soon be available.

The Friends’ website www.raleighpark.org.uk has more details of

projects and reports, and of ongoing activities. New members are

always welcome. We are looking to recruit new committee

members, especially parents of younger children who could help

plan and coordinate family activities in the Park.

Stephen Parkinson

Apple Day 2019

Well, that was fun!

Apple Day took place

on October 6th, the

rain held off, and

adults and children

joined together in an

afternoon of

blameless activity.

Vast quantities of

apples were brought

in bags and tubs and

baskets, and the

willing cohorts got

chopping on a trestle

table in the garden.

Meanwhile the apple

press had been

assembled, the mincer installed over the lining bag and the chopped

apples were minced and pressed down. Then the bag was folded

shut, the cover tamped down, bolts tightened, and the brawnier

members of the company got to work turning the screw. Out rushed

the juice, sampled with gusto

and saved in bottles and

barrels. Come 4pm, it was time

for tea and apple cakes of all

kinds, but once you’d got into

the rhythm if felt like a waste to

stop, so refreshments were

brought to the workbench.

Indoors, the apple and pear

identification table was up and

running, though nothing rare

and strange was logged this

year. The pictures give an idea

of what it was like. Thank you

everyone who came and made

it so worthwhile.

Ag MacKeith

Brownies play the game

2nd Botley Brownies are continuing with our Survivor badge. This

gave the girls a chance to prepare a wide assortment of fresh fruits

– some never seen or tasted before. Once all hands and fruit had

been washed, each Six selected a different fruit to peel, open or di-

vide into smaller amounts. The assortment of fruit was then placed

into small individual bowls and the meeting ended with all the

Brownies and Leaders sitting in a circle to enjoy the “fruits” of their

labours!

Our evening spent with the residents of Cumnor Hill House was a

new and most enjoyable occasion for our Unit. On arrival the Activit-

ies Organiser, Alan, placed the girls into four groups who would in

turn rotate around the various games laid out for us. These included

dominoes, snakes and ladders, large wooden noughts and crosses,

a bagatelle board and a Nintendo Wii Just Dance (which, to the em-

barrassed delight of all the girls, Brown Owl joined in with and boo-

gied too!). Several of the residents came to join us, to chat to us and

to watch what was happening.

One gentleman in particular

though, Ernie, decided to join in

with the games and stayed at the

snakes and ladders table enjoying

playing a fresh game with each of

the groups. Unfortunately, each

time he was just on the verge of

winning when Alan got the groups

to change around and then he

had to start all over again. Sorry,

Ernie! It transpired that he was an

ex-Scout Leader so already knew

a lot about Scouting and Guiding.

The evening was finished off with

a tray of beautifully prepared

sandwiches and a glass of

squash each. A big “thank you” to

Cumnor Hill House for inviting us

into their lovely home and to Ernie

for joining in and being such a sport.

The Owls

Oxford to Cambridge Expressway: find out more

Coming up this month you will have an ideal opportunity to find out

what impact the proposed Oxford to Cambridge Expressway might

have on you, our local community, and Oxfordshire as a whole.

Expressway Public Information Meeting

Thursday 7th November, 7.30pm in Seacourt Hall

hosted by N Hinksey Parish Council and Cumnor Parish Council

Many people will be aware of the Expressway, but may not know what

the proposals might mean in reality, or what process is being followed

to decide if it will be built, and if so, where. Highways England, who are

managing the project, have promised a public consultation this autumn,

but at the time of writing no details have been announced. We fully

expect at least one of the proposed routes to pass through this area.

The public meeting will include speakers who can provide detailed

answers on how the Expressway is being justified from the Government

viewpoint, and what it might mean in terms of additional housing and

infrastructure throughout the wider ‘Growth Arc’ that the Expressway

would pass through. They will also address the potential economic,

social and environmental impacts on local communities. There will be

opportunities to question the

speakers and panel about all

aspects of the proposed scheme.

If the Expressway is built, together

with the associated additional

housing, industry and other

elements proposed as part of the

wider scheme, it will be the largest

single infrastructure project ever

to take place within Oxfordshire. It

is essential that everybody has a

chance to have their say by

participating in the public

consultation, and we want to

ensure that people are fully

informed in advance about the

detailed issues. We look forward

to seeing you on the 7th.

Cllr David Kay, Chairman NHPC

Oxford Food Bank is ten years old!

Oxford Food Bank volunteers, suppliers and friends gathered on

29th September to celebrate 10 years of preventing unnecessary

food waste in Oxfordshire.

The charity based on Curtis Industrial Estate held an open day at its

warehouse base and a party at neighbouring brewery Tap Social.

Food was provided by Waste2Taste, a social enterprise which works

in collaboration with Oxford Food Bank, using the surplus food to

run workshops teaching cooking skills to vulnerable adults.

To celebrate 10 years, some of the more energetic volunteers also

took part in a 10k walk, taking in Harcourt Hill, Chilswell Valley and

South Hinksey. In spite of the

weather, walkers said they

welcomed the chance to get

together and chat – and some

also took the opportunity to

raise sponsorship for the Food

Bank.

Volunteers from Unipart Cowley

recently worked at the Food

Bank base to weigh all food

coming in for a week, helping to put a figure on Oxford Food Bank’s

impact over the past decade. Over seven days Oxford Food Bank

received 7.4 tonnes of surplus food with a retail value of nearly

£20,000. “We thought it would also be interesting to calculate

some statistics about what we’ve achieved over the past ten years,”

said manager Cathy Howard. “We estimate that we have saved

around £7.5 million’s worth of food going to landfill – that’s around

3,000 tons!” (See below for some more statistics – Ed)

Back at the party, volunteers and representatives of charities took

the opportunity to celebrate what Oxford Food Bank has achieved

over the past ten years. Volunteer Jude Carroll shared anecdotes

about some favourite moments, which included Countryfile Live at

Blenheim Palace, receiving the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service

in 2018, and many tales about weird and wonderful vegetables, van-

whisperers, and the endless supply of bananas and lemon curd.

Visitors included Vice Lord Lieutenant Brian Buchan, who

congratulated the Food Bank on its contribution to the community.

Everyone raised a glass to toast 10 fantastic years, and to look

forward to many productive years ahead.

Emma Tinder

[Some further figures were shaken out in the ten-year review:

Currently there are 120 volunteers, and around 90 charities helped

per week. Over ten years there have been 118,000 hours of

volunteer labour, 300,000 miles covered collecting and distributing

food for 7 million meals. Miles driven were ‘more than the distance

to the moon’, but by keeping that food out of landfill, 12,600 tonnes

of CO

were saved

– enough to drive for 30 million miles, so very

worth doing. The Oxford Food Bank exists primarily to prevent good

food going to waste, so in an ideal world it would not be needed. In

our own flawed system, however, it does a wonderful job, and we

look forward to the day when there’s a similar operation in every

town . Editor]

Come and try Morris dancing

As Autumn takes hold and the evenings start drawing in, it's that time of

year when summer has truly gone and winter is just around the corner.

In the world of

Morris, this is the

time to look forward

to next summer, and

start preparing. It's

practice season.

And it’s the perfect

time for beginners to

Morris to start

learning.

Dance of any sort

has a wide range of

health benefits, both

physical and mental.

Morris is a gentle form of exercise, something anyone can tackle. Never

danced before? No problem. You don't need a partner or any

equipment to start. It's a sociable (and slightly daft) way to have fun and

get a little fitter – and maybe even a little happier in the process.

Did you know Botley has its very

own Morris side? Cry Havoc

Morris practises every Thursday

evening between 8:00 and 9:30

in the WI Hall. Our dancers and

musicians come from all round

Oxford and further beyond, but

there are still some Botley

regulars. We're a mixture of

women and men of all ages and

abilities, and we're always

overjoyed to welcome new

dancers or musicians. Why not

come and try it out?

To find out more, contact me at

info@cryhavoc.org.uk or on

07941 697732, through

Facebook or Twitter as

@cryhavocmorris. Then there’s

our website:.www.cryhavoc.org

Jim Hague

Beavers Space Camp

On the 20th September, 4th Oxford Beavers arrived at Hill End

Centre for a space camp. Once they were settled, Adrian (one of the

Leaders) took them on a journey through space and the Universe;

they then designed unique planets that they would like to visit

themselves. I particularly liked the cube planet and the sweet

planet.

After tossing a sizeable

amount of marshmallows

and chocolate biscuits onto

the fire, we went out to look

at some constellations and

planets. We saw shooting

stars, satellites, and even

the International Space

Station went over. After

discovering the stars, we

came back to enjoy sitting

round the fire, listening to

space-themed stories, after

which it was bed time (not

necessarily time to sleep!).

Extremely early the next

morning, the Beavers were ready and raring to go… to breakfast. It

was such a lovely morning that we went on a walk. It was not long

before they were distracted by the chance to build dens (even better

than the Scouts!).

Back in the dormitory, we did some fun space-themed activities,

including making space gloop; we made planets with CDs; created

comets and learned about the phases of the moon through eating

Oreo biscuits. We also watched a video of what it is like in the

International Space Station. We finished our camp by making and

cooking pizza planets in a wood-fired pizza oven; launching bottle

rockets and building our own International Space Station out of

cardboard boxes (see photos above).

I think all the Beavers had a good time and I can’t wait to help at the

next Beaver camp. You can see two 360 degree photos of the camp

at: http://bit.ly/2MF9Vt9 and http://bit.ly/2MDELST

Will Hodges (a Scout at the 4th and a helper with the Beavers)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LOCAL PLANNING APPLICATIONS

P19/V2188/HH

52 Hurst Rise Road. Garage

Replacement.

13 Sept

TDD: 8 Nov

P19/V2256/HH 7 Lime Rd. Single storey rear

extension. Loft conversion.

16 Sept

TDD: 11 Nov

P19/V2253/HH 3 Lime Rd. To erect a white PVCu-

framed conservatory.

17 Sept

TDD: 12 Nov

P19/V2277/A Unit 1 Westway Place, Chapel Way.

(Mid-Counties Co-op.) 3 x

illuminated fascia signs.

24 Sept

Target Decis

Date: 15 Nov

P19/V2307/HH 5 Hurst Rise Rd. Single-storey side

and rear extension.

25 Sept

TDD: 20 Nov

P19/V2369/LDP 9 Conifer Close. Certificate of

Lawful Use for single storey side

extension and garage conversion.

2 October

TDD: 27 Nov

P19/V2414/A Seacourt Tower, Homebase Ltd.

New B & Q external wall mounted &

free standing parking signage (non-

illuminated & illuminated).

8 October

Target

Decision Date:

3 December

P19/V2377/HH Courtenay House, Stanton Rd.

Retrospective planning permission

for single storey staff rest room to

main house.

9 October

TDD: 4 Dec

Afternoon Tea at Branches

On Tuesday 19th September, the Branches team and the Young

Leaders hosted an afternoon tea party for people over the age of

sixty. Despite only having four people at their first event, it was a

very enjoyable time with games to play and scones, sandwiches and

cakes to eat, all made by young people. Our next dates are

• Thursday 31 Oct, 3.45 – 5pm

• Thursday 14 November, ditto

• Thurs 12 December, ditto

We would love to have more people, so that the old and the new

generations can come together and have fun. All of our tea parties

are hosted at the Seacourt Hall, West Way, Botley OX2 9LP. If you

have any enquiries, phone Oxford 251115 or come along on the day.

We would like to thank the Lottery Community Fund players for their

contribution. We were very grateful for their grant. This article was

written by us three young leaders, who were helping at the event.

Amelie, Lizzie and Shannon

Police Report

There has been too much happening recently in and around Botley,

which just shows we can’t take our reputation as a ‘low crime area’ for

granted. Thanks to PCSO Adi Wright for keeping us informed. If you

can help with any information please tell TVP by phoning 101 and

mentioning the crime reference number if you have it.

• On 19 September around 2.30pm a property in Hurst Rise

Road was broken into and small items were taken (ref 43190290309)

• On 24 September between midnight and 7.45pm a property in

Denton Close Botley was broken in through the rear patio door and

small items were stolen (ref 43190296203)

• On October 8th, between 11.00 and 14.30hrs, there was a

burglary on Orchard Road. The thieves gained access via a bedroom

window. A messy search was conducted and a safe was stolen that

contained jewellery, passports and other items (ref 43190311921)

• On the evening of 14th October, Police had reports of a male

acting suspiciously by hanging around an alleyway and later that

evening someone tried a garage door handle. We don’t know if this

was the same person, or if these incidents are related, but we would

invite residents to remain vigilant and let us know if they see anything

suspicious.

• On 17th October between 7 and 10pm, burglars forced a rear

window in Denton Close. It is unknown if anything was taken.

• Similarly, on October 18th at 19.30hrs, burglars gained access

to a house in Pottle Close through a forced rear window.

Police have also had a report of suspected rogue traders visiting

residents of caravan parks offering various works including structural

maintenance. They provided quotes and advertising material, but the

contact details they provided did not relate to a legitimate business. If

you get unexpected visitors offering work of any description please do

not agree to anything, sign anything and especially do not part with any

money. You should be given time to research the company and

potentially get additional quotes for the work. If in any doubt call 101 or

Trading Standards.

On 28 September the Abingdon Neighbourhood Team were in Hurst

Lane, Cumnor, offering crime reduction advice and discussing

Smartwater property-marking kits. If 80% of residents have used and

registered Smartwater security marking, a street sign can be displayed

to deter burglars. If you would like help with a similar scheme for your

street, just ask. More information on TVP website.

Food ideas: Slugs

After the recent rain, the only thing that seems to be thriving in the

garden is slugs. From the amount of damage that they have caused

to my fruit and vegetables, they must be the size of small dogs.

Hoping for revenge, I did a bit of research on slug recipes, and you'll

be happy to know that your gut feeling is correct. Slugs are not the

new, must-have, low-fat, high-nutrient taste

sensation. Their slime can contain

lungworm and cause a form of meningitis

(they can do that to dogs too). The way to

avoid this is by soaking the slugs in a 50:50

mixture of vinegar and water for several

minutes, which gets rid of most of the slime

and conveniently also kills them. It would

be wise to also remove their digestive gland – if you're keen, you

can get instructions on how to do this off the Internet. Then they

can be used like clams: simmered in stock or stir-fried.

Assuming that this does not sound fantastically appealing, here are

a couple of more palatable recipes featuring seasonal produce,

most of which can come from the garden or allotment:

Mashed slug: Sorry, I meant potato there, mashed potato. Cut

several potatoes into small pieces (I leave the skin on), cover them

in water and boil until soft (about 10 minutes), drain off almost all of

the water, add a good dollop of milk, a lot of butter and some salt,

and mash with a potato masher or a fork. Instead of just potato, you

can make a mixture of any of: potato, parsnip, swede, turnip, apple.

Black slug with apple: Meat Master on Osney Mead sells large

tubes of black pudding (whoops, my mistake earlier) for not very

much. If you haven't had black pudding since you were a child, try it

again – it's delicious stuff, albeit high in fat. Cut two apples into

slices and fry them gently in several tablespoons of butter. Remove

the apples when they are golden and add the black pudding to the

pan: 2-3 slices per person. Fry for 3 minutes on each side, and

serve with the apples.

Stir-fried slug: Slice one onion and a medium-sized slug of your

choice: red, green (oh ha ha I meant cabbage, not slug), kale, etc.

Heat up two tablespoons of oil, and add the onion and cabbage plus

a teaspoon of salt. Fry at high heat for several minutes until the

cabbage is wilted.

Slug crumble: Pick a large bowl of

slugs fruit: some combination of

berries, apples, pears, plums etc. Put

them in a baking dish. For the

crumble mix, combine 300g plain flour,

175g brown sugar, and 200g butter by

rubbing them together with your hands

until it has a, well, crumble-like

consistency. Alternatively, buy a package of crumble mix from the

Coop. Put the crumble mix on top of the slugs and bake at gas 4

(180C) for about 40 minutes. Serve with yoghurt or cream.

RT (reprinted)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Randoms

Cumnor Choral Society:

Bach’s Christmas Oratorio on 30 November in St Peter & St Paul’s

Church at 7.30 in association with Wheatley & Great Milton Singers.

Tickets £12 and £10 from Caroline on 07961 900670 or at the door.

Andrews Dry Cleaning:

Andrew Shea has expanded the offer in the shop in Elms Parade

and can now provide key cutting, much missed since Motorist

Discount moved out, shoe repairs, saving a long journey into town,

and Rug Doctor Rental, unavailable since Homebase closed.

Girls’ Football

The Football Association and SSE (Scottish and Southern Energy)

have launched an initiative to provide girls between 5 and 11 with

regular opportunities to play football and take part in organised

sessions. 200 clubs have already been established across England.

Recently Botley Boys and Girls FC were contacted by the FA and

asked if we would like to come on board.

Our club has always promoted equal opportunities, but the male

dominated nature of the game has discouraged girls from joining.

SSE Wildcats will provide a safe environment where girls with no

football experience can have fun engaging with sport, develop

fundamental skills, try a variety of sessions, learn new things and

create foundations for a lifelong love of sport.

Therefore, we are now delighted to inform you that, with the help of

a group of willing volunteers, we are in a position to firstly offer a

safe girl-only environment for female footballers, and secondly apply

to become an accredited Wildcats centre.

Sprout grants

Good news! Thanks to the hard work of our advertising manager,

Mike Cockman, The Sprout, has once again achieved a small

surplus. From next month we will be happy to return this to the local

community in the form of grants. If your worthwhile project requires

some funding, get in touch and we’ll help if we can.

Oganizations: If your organization is not listed here, please send details to

editor@thesprout.org.uk or telephone 724452 for inclusion.

1st Botley Brownies

Girls aged 7C10

Dean Court Community Centre Thur 6–7.30 Jean Metson,

firstbotleybrownies@gmail.com

1st Botley Rainbows

Girls aged 5--7

Dean Court Community Centre Thur 6–7.15 Jennie

Shepherd, firstbotleyrainbows@gmail.com

2nd Botley Brownies

Girls aged 7–10

Rosary Room, Yarnells Hill. Tues 6:15-7:45 Alison

Griffin 2ndbotleybrownies@outlook.com

4th Oxford Scout Group

Beavers, Cub Scouts, Scouts

Scout Hall, Arnolds Way; mail@thefourth.org.uk

Website: http://www.thefourth.org.uk/

15th Oxford Scout Group

Boys and girls welcome

Fridays, cubs 6.30-8, scouts 8-9.30, Botley Baptist Hall.

Amy Cusden 07887 654386 xvoxfordscouts@yahoo.co.uk

Baby & Toddler Group Tues/Thurs 9.15–11, SS Peter & Paul Church Hall

Badminton Club

Thurs 7-8pm at Matthew Arnold Sports Hall. Garry Clark

0777 3559 314 garryclark13@gmail.com

BikeSafe. B4044 community

path campaign

Wants to connect Botley to Eynsham. Meets every 6-8

weeks. Contact via website B4044path.org

Books on Wheels R.V.S. Free Library Service for housebound Ox. 248142

Botley Boys & Girls F.C.

Football teams from ages 8-16

Jason Barley Ox. 242926 jbarley1@sky.com or Brendan

Byrne 792531 brendan.byrne999@gmail.com

Botley Library

01865 248142. Open till 7 on Friday and 1pm on Sat,

otherwise 9.30 to 5.30 (closed Wednesdays).

Botley Singers

Thur 7.30, St Andrew’s Church, Dean Court. Angela Astley-

Penny Ox.242189 angastpen@aol.com

Branches Café, Westway

Place, Open to All 8am-3pm,

Open for young people 3-5 daily, Th. eves 7–9 Tel:01865

251115 www.branchesyouth.uk Facebook Instagram

Community Fridge Mon–Sat 9–5, Sun 11–5. Riki Therivel 07759 135811

Cumnor Choral Society

Rehearsals Friday 7.45 to 9.45 pm John May 07795

054142 or www.cumnorchoralsociety.wordpress.com

Cumnor Chess Club

Thurs 7–9pm Cumnor Old School. Steven Bennett 862788

www.cumnorchessclub.co.uk

Cumnor & District Historical

Society

Last Monday of the month 7.30-9.00 Cumnor Old School.

01865 724808

Cumnor Gardening Club http://cumnorgardens.org.uk/ or phone , 01865 721026

Harmony InSpires, Ladies'

Acappella Singing Group

Wed 7.30 at Appleton village hall. C. Casson 01235 831352

or harmonyinspires@hotmail.co.uk

Hill End Volunteer Team

Contact: David Millin on david.millin@hill-end.org, call

01865-863510 or visit www.hillend-oec.co.uk

Let’s Sing! – singing group Weds 2pm, WOCC, details Emily 07969 522368

or email emformusic@outlook.com

Morris Dancing – Cry Havoc

Barbara Brett 249599 or bag@cryhavoc.org.uk

Mum and Baby Yoga for

Mondays 10.30 at Dean Court CC, contact Jacqueline

babies from 6 wks to crawling Rice via https://yogawithjacqueline.co.uk

North Hinksey Preschool and

Childcare Clubs

Mon–Fri 7.45am –6.00 pm. 01865 794287 or email

nhps.manager1@gmail.com

N Hinksey Art Group Weds 10 – 12.00 W.I. Hall Tel: Christina 07931 707997

N Hinksey Bellringers Contact: Ray Rook 01865 241451

N Hinksey Conservation

Volunteers

Meets at weekends. Contact Voirrey Carr 07798743121

voirreyc@aol.com

N Hinksey, Friends of Annual Cricket Match & Walk. Douglas Bond 791213.

N Hinksey Parish Council Colin Ryde, tel 861992, clerk@northhinksey-pc.gov.uk

N Hinksey Youth Club

Wednesdays at Arnold's Way pavilion, call Daz on 07791

212866 or see Facebook

Over Sixties Lunch Club

Every other Thursday. Seacourt Hall. Viv Smith 01865

241539 or Jackie Warner 01865 721386

Oxford Flood Alliance R Thurston 01865 723663 or 07973 292035

Oxfd Flower Arranging Club 4th Thursday Cumnor. Dympna Walker: 01865 865259

Oxford Harmony Men's

Acappella singing group

Meets Wednesdays 7.45 pm at Seacourt Hall Contact

pro@oxfordharmony.co.uk

Oxford Otters

Swimming for people with disabilities. Sundays, twice

monthly. Contact: Alan Cusden 723420

Oxford Rugby Club

Boys and girls from 5, kevin.honner@ntlworld.com

Seniors, training etc jbrodley@chandlings.org.uk.

Oxford Sports Lawn Tennis

Club, N Hinksey

Family club: Melanie Riste 848658

melanie_riste@hotmail.com

Raleigh Park, Friends of raleighpark@raleighpark.org.uk

Saturdads

Botley Bridges

Fun activities and trips for Dads and under 5’s

10 am–noon 1st Sat of month. Tel: 243955

Seacourt Hall management

committee

Michael Cockman 07766 317691

michael.cockman@gmail.com.

Shotokan Karate club 6+ WOCC twice weekly Martyn King 07836 646450

Walking for Health 2nd/4th Saturdays 9.45 Botley Library Alan 07941 610913

Weight Watchers

Thursdays 6pm at SS Peter & Paul Church Hall Banso

tel: 07779 253899 bansob@aol.com

West Oxford Bowls Club Contact details on www.westoxfordbowlsclub.co.uk

West Oxford Taekwon Do

Club

Mon, Thurs 6.30-8pm, MA gym, contact Chris Hall 01865

570291 www.wotkd.co.uk

West Oxford U3A (Uni of the 3rd Age) http://westoxfordu3a.org.uk/

West Way Day Centre

Mon & Fri 10–3pm, Field House, 07740 611971.

oxfordshirehub@royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk

Women’s Institute (Botley) Liz Manson, 244175 or liz.manson@virginmedia.com